Cruz opposes budget deal

Ted Cruz broke days of silence on the bipartisan budget agreement Thursday, releasing a highly critical statement shortly before the House was set to vote on it.

The Texas Republican senator said that he can’t support legislation forged by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) because it “moves in the wrong direction.” One of his main problems with the agreement: it will fund President Barack Obama’s health care law.

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Cruz’s fight to defund Obamacare triggered an impasse between the House and Senate, leading to a 16-day government shutdown in October.

“It spends more, taxes more, and allows continued funding for Obamacare. I cannot support it,” Cruz said. “This proposal undoes the sequester’s modest reforms and pushes us two steps back, deeper into debt. Supporters of this plan are asking for more spending now in exchange for minor changes that may possibly reduce spending later. That may be a fine deal for Washington, but it’s not for the American people.”

Cruz’s opposition to the bipartisan agreement isn’t fueling the debate on Capitol Hill nearly to the degree as his fight during the shutdown, when many conservatives — particularly in the House — looked to him for advice on strategy.

His office had declined to elucidate his position this week as the details of the budget agreement slowly unfolded, and by the time he announced his opposition on Thursday, many of his Senate Republican colleagues had already announced their displeasure with the deal while many in the House GOP were set to support it.